Louis-Joseph Berlioz
Louis-Joseph Berlioz is one of the four main protagonists in Kingdom Hearts: Marche au Supplice. A former aristocrat turned mercenary, Berlioz is fighting a conflict that threatens to tear his own personal balance between forgiveness and revenge, light over darkness. Early Life Berlioz was born on 11 December 158 BDC (23266 EUC) to the respected Count of Isere, Jean-Francois Berlioz. Growing up, he was trained to be a Keyblade Wielder alongside his elder and younger sisters, Nanci and Adele Berlioz. The House of Berlioz were ardent supporters of the Monarchy under Richard IV and his son Edward VI. When he turned 11, he would be admitted to the Terre Depart Academy near the Capital World. During his time he studied the light and was to be a respected Diplomat for the Order and for the monarchy one day, but during his stay he turned to the knowledge of darkness, and sought instead to be a researcher, an archivist and studier of history. He became enamored with the subject of the balance of Light and Darkness, and while it was accepted by many, there were few, some of them influential within the Academy and the Order of the Red Rose, who saw it as heresy. Two of the more notables who had earned Berlioz's ire later in his life was Keyblade Master Anastasie Janvier, of whom he considered as a friend and his original supporter to the rank of Master, and Keyblade Knight Angele Celestine De La Croix who was a close personal friend of Berlioz growing up alongside his brother Léon. A few weeks shy of his Mark of Mastery, Berlioz was accused by Master De La Croix of studying the Dark Arts, causing a large scale dispute between moderate members including the Grand Master Charles-Francois du Pirier and his own Father, against the fanactics of the light led by Master De La Croix. The issue, which threatened to tear the order apart, led Berlioz, then at the age of 17, to save his family honor by renouncing himself as a member of the ducal house and officially leaving the Keyblade Order. From then on, he would serve as a Sellsword, embarking on his own adventures all across the Realm of Light and beyond, even taking up comrades, who would later become his apprentices. He called his unit the Faucheuse Squad. Aimed at the goal of cartography, treasure hunting and archaeological work, in addition to the typical duties as a mercenary. There are rumors that Berlioz and crew had a hand at the escape of Prince Charles to Plantagenia when Henry IX became King of Novara-Archelonia, however nothing has been confirmed. Marche au Supplice Appearance & Attire Berlioz stands at 6’2”, and weighs roughly 210 lbs, mostly muscle. He has short black hair that goes halfway down his neck, as well as purple colored irises. Berlioz’s young looks makes most people look as if he is at least in his late teens. He has a strong and well-toned physical build, due to intense training for a man his age. Berlioz wears a black denim jacket that reaches down to his waist, underneath the jacket is a lightweight, leather armor and black denim jeans. He also wears crimson-colored gauntlets on his arms to protect himself from harm. Personality Berlioz is a pragmatic soldier, with a fondness for dark imagery and themes, despite not being someone oriented towards darkness. He shows a subtle streak of compassion, and is sometimes considered to be charismatic. He is not wholly affiliated with the Keyblade Order, despite him being a Keyblade Wielder, due to his preference to not use his Keyblade in battle, which adds to his charisma. Berlioz is also known never to underestimate an opponent, knowing full well if he or his comrades would not be able to successfully defeat an opponent, and act accordingly to withdraw. Weapons & Abilities Berlioz’s weapon choice is based on a fighting style that adapts to a variety of different combat scenarios. His weapon is an axe, “Décès.” The axe head is shaped in the form of a half-phi (Φ) shape, from tip to tip roughly 6 inches long. The handle itself is about a third as long as he is tall, and is red in color. The tip of the handle doubles as a spear point, detailing a fleur-de-lys on the top. Berlioz can wield Décès either one handed or with both hands. Belioz also wields a Keyblade as well, in this case, the Chaos Ripper. The Chaos Ripper is a long Keyblade that appears chipped and very asymmetrical in its design. The handle is smooth and red-orange and is surrounded by a roughly rectangular guard. The guard is predominantly black, though it fades into dark red toward the base of the blade, and has uneven, chipped spikes on each of its corners. The shaft of the blade is black with a faded bronze border along its edges, which are lined with prominent chips. The head of the blade is decorated by several chipped and oddly-shaped red-orange spikes with black tips, which also form the teeth. An eye of darkness is also set in the head of the blade. Berlioz tends not to use the Keyblade unless he is forced to use it, as he does not wish to overly rely on the weapon. Berlioz’s fighting style is often times pragmatic with both Keyblade and axe, focusing on controlling his opponent. Balancing offense and defense to eliminate or incapacitate an opponent when he does it. Category:Characters Category:Kingdom Hearts: Marche au Supplice Category:Unsungverse